TEACHING TECHNIQUES - Oneonta
TEACHING TECHNIQUES
93
TEACHING TECHNIQUES
Tell me,
I forget.
Show me,
I remember.
Involve me,
I understand.
Ancient Chinese Proverb
94
TEACHING TECHNIQUES
THE NATURAL APPROACH IN THE CLASSROOM
The Natural Approach is designed to develop basic communication skills. The development stages are:
(1) Comprehension (preproduction), (2) Early Production, and (3) Speech Emergence. This approach to
teaching language has been proven to be particularly effective with limited English proficient students.
STAGE I
COMPREHENSION
In order to maximize opportunities for comprehension experiences. Natural Approach instructors (1)
create activities designed to teach students to recognize the meaning in words used in meaningful contexts, and
(2) teach students to guess at the meaning of phrases without knowing all of the words and structures of the
sentences.
a.
ALWAYS USE VISUAL AIDS (pictures, realia, gestures).
b.
MODIFY YOUR SPEECH to aid comprehension, speak more slowly, emphasize key words,
simplify vocabulary and grammar, use related ideas, do not talk out of context.
c.
DO NOT FORCE PRODUCTION. Students will use English when they are ready. They
sometimes experience a ¡°silent period¡± which can last days or weeks.
d.
FOCUS ATTENTION ON KEY VOCABULARY.
Teacher Activities in the Comprehension Stage.
a.
Total Physical Response (TPR). The teacher gives commands to which the students react with
their bodies as well as their brains.
b.
Supplying meaningful input based on items in the classroom or brought to class. (Who has the
________ ? Who is wearing a ________ ?)
c.
Supplying meaningful input based on pictures.
Student Responses in the Comprehension Stage.
a.
An action (TPR).
b.
The name of a fellow student (from b., c. above).
c.
Gestures
d.
Students say yes/no in English.
e.
Students point to an item or picture.
f.
Children do not initially make many attempts to communicate using words, rather they indicate
their comprehension nonverbally.
95
TEACHING TECHNIQUES
THE NATURAL APPROACH IN THE CLASSROOM
Stage 2
EARLY SPEECH
In non-threatening environments, students move voluntarily into Stage 2. Stage 2 begins when students
begin using English words to give:
a.
b.
c.
d.
yes/no answers
one-word answers
lists of words
two word strings and short phrases
The following are instructor question techniques to encourage the transition from Stage I to Stage 2.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Yes/no questions (Is Jimmy wearing a sweater today?)
Choice questions (Is this a pencil or an eraser?)
Questions which can be answered with a single word. (What does the woman have in her hand?
Book. Where? When? Who?)
General questions which encourage lists of words. (What do we see on the table now?)
Open sentence with pause for student response. (Mike is wearing a blue shirt, but Ron is
wearing a _____ shirt.)
During the Early Speech Stage, the instructor must give a meaningful and understandable input which will
encourage the transition to Stage 3. Therefore all student responses should be expanded if possible. Here is
a sample exchange between the teacher and the class:
Instructor:
Class:
Instructor:
Class:
Instructor:
Class:
Instructor:
Class:
Instructor:
What do we see in this picture?
Woman.
Yes, there is a woman in this picture. Is there a man?
Yes.
Yes, there is. There is a man and a woman. Where is the man?
Car.
Yes that¡¯s right. The man is in a car. Is he driving the car?
Yes.
Yes, he is. He¡¯s driving the car.
Other sorts of activities which can be used in Early Speech Stage:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
open dialogues
guided interviews
open-ended sentences
charts, tables, graphs
newspaper ads
96
TEACHING TECHNIQUES
THE NATURAL APPROACH IN THE CLASSROOM
Stage 3
SPEECH EMERGENCE\
In the Speech Emergence Stage, speech production will normally improve in both quatntity and quallity.
The sentences that the students produce become longer, more complex and tehy use a wider range of
vocabulary. Finally, the number of errors will slowly decrease.
Students need to be given the opportunity to use oral and written language whenever possible. When
they reach the stage in which speech is emerging beyond the two-word stage, there are many sorts of activities
which will foster more comprehension and speech. Some suggestions are:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
preference ranking
games of all sorts
problem-solving using charts, tables graphs, maps
advertisements and signs
group discussion
skits (finger plays, flannel boards, puppets)
music, radio, television, film strips, slides
writing exercises (especially Language Experience Approach)
reading
culture
In general, we may classify language acquisition activities as those in which the focus is on the message,
i.e., meaning. These may be of four types:
a.
b.
c.
d.
content (culture, subject matter, new information, reading)
affective-humanistic (student¡¯s own ideas, opinions, experiences)
games (focus on using language to participate in the game)
problem-solving (focus on using language to locate information)
(From: T.D. Terrell, Department of Languages, University of California, San Diego)
97
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